The ever so energetic Gurdas Maan on his new album, changing music scene and life.
TIME has stood still for Gurdas Maan. Even now when he does his typical jhatkas, matching step for step with young boys in Boot Polishan or romances Bhumika Chawla in Taare Gawah Ne, the numero uno star of Punjabi entertainment industry does not look out of place, on screen or off. It was not surprising that the press interaction, which took place at Hotel MountView-10, opened with the question, rather a comment, on his looks. But what surprised us was his answer — “No long hours spent in gym or organic food, but the love and ashirwaad of people,” he said.

But then again, this is Gurdas Maan, the simple, humble Dil Da Mamla guy, who makes a simple press conference an interesting affair, sometime with crisp, honest one-liners or sometimes with long philosophical verses borrowed or self-created. Thursday’s mood was inclined towards philosophical, maybe to create the right ambience for the promotion of his latest album Boot Polishan that comes with an underlying message — dignity of labour.

So as we watch the videos of four songs from his Sony BMG’s first Punjabi album that has already sold 2 lakh copies within three weeks of its release, he picks up lines and verses from different songs to entertain us. “My favourite is Cycle because the phase of my life when I used to ride a cycle is very dear to me,” he tells us. Where does he draw inspiration from, we ask. “I do not think at all. I write whatever comes to me. In fact, most of my songs are crazy,” comes his reply. “In fact, when I write or sing, I don’t bother if it is going to be suitable for parties, discs or DJs. I just do my bit, rest is for the public to decide,” he adds.

Ask him to comment on the present fusion-confusion in Punjabi music, one-album singers and mushrooming studios where money is equivalent to talent or the talk on imposing a ban on double meaning songs, he goes all philosophical again — “Sab waqt ki chaal hai. What can I say? Changes are inevitable and only when there are bad things around, one knows the value of the good.” And, as his answers, from this point, starts to dwell on the philosophy of ‘changes with time’, we realise it’s time for us to leave the singer to the distributors and enjoy his songs instead.

The Tribune